I don’t fancy myself a completely naive person, but I am pretty apt to trust science and those who study medicine.

When science and medicine have widely made the case for how obesity is a legitimate health concern, I’m not going to be one to dispute it. Because no matter how much anyone may want to deny that which is proven by science, science doesn’t care, because science is going to function the way it does in the universe, whether you like it or not.

It’s perfectly okay to not feel ashamed of your body, and to find positivity anywhere you can, especially when we live in a world full of cruel assholes. You know what’s not okay, though? Shitting on science and medicine because you have a hard time accepting the fact of the matter that the shape your body is in is medically unhealthy. Diabetes. Heart attack. Stroke. Heart disease. Cancer. These aren’t diseases manufactured by the fucking patriarchy. They kill people. They leave families suffering with loss.

There’s no shame in being overweight. I’m overweight at the moment. I’ve had an up/down relationship with my weight in my adult years. Body positivity should not be a euphemism for lazy, excuse making. Your body is not solely your weight, or percent of body fat. It’s all of your functioning organs, your veins, your blood. If getting off the couch and running or walking feels overwhelming, see a therapist. If you don’t know the best way to properly exercise to get in shape and get healthy, see a personal trainer. If you don’t know what a healthy diet consists of, see a dietician. Yeah, the shit costs money - how much is your life worth? Does your insurance cover any of it? You might be surprised if you look into it.

Let’s be clear: body positivity is not letting those organs down based on a poor diet, lack of exercise, and other negative decisions that cause a plethora of complications sooner or later in your life. Getting sucked into the thin privilege, fatphobia, and Tumblr ‘body positivity’ paradigms are never going to do you any favors. There is much greater privilege to making bad choices than there ever will be to being thin.

Here’s to the both of us overcoming our weight influx. Hope to see you on the other side. Stop shitting on science in the mean time.